Georgia Department of Agriculture

Panel discussion will cover 150 years of Land-Grant Legacy impacts

State ag commissioner and other esteemed panelists discuss the past, present and future of land grant education

Georgia Department of Agriculture (GDA) Commissioner Gary W. Black today announced his participation in the upcoming panel discussion celebrating Georgia’s land-grant institution, the University of Georgia (UGA), with a focus on the future of agriculture, engineering and military sciences.

“It is vital for Georgia to remember its past as we consider the present and plan for the future of agriculture in our great state,” Black said. “This panel discussion brings together a top notch group of experts to speak out about the relevance of the Morrill Acts and how 150 years of land-grant education has made a difference in Georgia and across the U.S. Our nation’s collegiate educational institution would be lost without it, and I’m proud to be part of this discussion to showcase its importance.”

The panel discussion is open to the public and will take place Wednesday, April 11, at 7 p.m. at the UGA Chapel. Bob Izlar, UGA Director of Center for Forest Business, will moderate the discussion. Additional panelists include UGA College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences Dean J. Scott Angle, Georgia 4-H Director Arch Smith, ROTC Lieutenant Col. Kurt Felpel and UGA Biological Engineering Professor Dr. Brahm Verma.

Black has an existing legacy with both UGA and the agriculture industry. As a student at UGA, Black was a campus leader inducted into UGA’s AGHON honor society and served as Ag Hill Council Vice President. In 1980, before he completed his undergraduate degree in Agriculture Education, he also served as a student intern on the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry.